Georgian official: This is our Tisha B'Av

"This isn’t some local fight between the separatist of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, this is a war between Russia and Georgia," head of the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Lasha Zhvania, said Sunday.

In a telephone interview with Ynet, Zhvania, whose tenure as the Georgian ambassador to Israel ended a mere month ago, said that the Russian military presence in South Ossetia was massive: "(Russia) sent 3,000 tanks and an infantry force of 10,000 men into South Ossetia. Today isn't just the Jews' Tisha B'Av, it’s a Tisha B'av for Georgia as well."

Zhvania stressed that contrary to the foreign media reports, Georgia has yet to retreat from South Ossetia, and has only pulled its troops from the capital of Tskhinvali.

The Russian forces, he added, have been attacking civilian targets both in Georgia and in South Ossetia. Zhvania could not confirm the reports of the death toll – which is estimated in the thousands – but did confirm that the Russians have bombed residential areas in the separatist province.

"We are trying to initiate an international move which could halt the Russian aggression," he said, adding that the international mission which has arrived in the area, includes delegates from the US, the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, he said, have already issued public condemnations of the Russian military operations.

Georgia's president and defense minister (Photo: Reuters) 

The emergency situation, he continued, has resulted in all political faction voicing their support of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili: I can’t remember such solidarity in the past few years… Even the opposition is on his side. But I'm not surprised; I wouldn’t expect anything else from my people. The political sentiment in one – (Russia) has crossed the line."

Like other senior officials in the Georgian parliament, Zhvania too believes that Moscow is responsible for arming the separatists in South Ossetia, in stark contrast to the decade-long ceasefire agreement.

"Where else could the Ossetians get military equipment?" he wondered aloud. "Ossetia is not an independent country. Russia has been supplying them with arms and had now sent thousands troops into the province."

Georgia, he stressed, has no intention of pulling its troops: "It's true that we don’t have the same military power as Russia, but we will not let it take Georgia again."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement Sunday saying Israel was following the developments in South Ossetia and Georgia and "hoped the violence will come to an end. Israel recognizes Georgia's territorial integrity and hoped both sides can find their way to a peaceful solution," said the statement.